Next 36 is a bet for the future

The Next 36 is a bet on the long term: that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, these kids will find ways to shake things up, whether they're on Bay Street, in their own businesses, or in academia, the arts or non-profits.

Photograph by: goodluz
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I hadn't meant to write about the Next 36 again. I know some entrepreneurs feel a little jealous, even resentful, of the high-profile program that takes 36 high achieving university students and showers them with personal attention, high-profile mentors, academic training from all-star business professors and $500,000 in startup capital.

Yet, here's why this program matters to the rest of us. It's not about incubating new businesses. The program's four founders - serial entrepreneur Reza Satchu, Bank of Canada special advisor Tim Hodgson, business professor Ajay Agrawal and social entrepreneur Claudia Hepburn - aren't trying to turn students into business owners. They're creating a cadre of visionary, ambitious innovators who will recognize opportunity when they see it throughout their careers and know how to take advantage of it.

When the founders looked at the rising productivity gap between the United States and Canada two years ago, they reasoned the problem wasn't the talents of the average Canadian, but the lack of big-thinking entrepreneurs: the Dells, Gates, Jobs and, yes, Trumps, who don't just set out to build companies, but world-beaters.

The Next 36 isn't about the seven new app-based companies that pitched their business plans at last week's graduation ceremony in Toronto. The Next 36 is a bet on the long term: that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, these kids will find ways to shake things up, whether they're on Bay Street, in their own businesses, or in academia, the arts or non-profits.

If this theory holds, these embedded entrepreneurs - by then in the hundreds - will be creating splashy new products, services, companies and social innovations to solve major economic and social problems. Many will create jobs and spinoff business opportunities just as Microsoft, Amazon, Apple and Google have created services that enhanced people's lives and catalyzed new careers and opportunities (see Hotmail, AdWords, iTunes and YouTube).

A long shot? You bet. But what higher, bolder objective could there be than to seed exceptional entrepreneurs throughout Canadian society, ready and eager to make a difference?

And besides, it's not your money. The Next 36 has tapped the pockets of Big Business - Pattison, Weston, Desmarais, Rogers and many more. Indeed, the establishment's eagerness to contribute has been a significant coup. When Canadian tycoons and enterprises invest in future entrepreneurs - all potential, no track record - startup ecosystems benefit across Canada.

The Next 36's second annual Venture Day on Aug. 14 offered another positive sign: proof that entrepreneurs can be taught. Two representatives from each Next 36 business had four minutes to explain what their company does, how it's different, and why people should invest. The 2012 event followed the same basic structure as last year's, but the results were a step above.

Most Next 36 businesses start with an app. App companies are businesses on steroids: You identify a problem, write some code, and get listed on the App Store or Android market. Production and distribution are so last century: you focus only on strategy, product development and marketing.

Last year's Next 36 companies offered services that help people flirt with other people in bars, buy and sell stuff, or call for high-end cabs. The first year's cohort focused mainly on developing cool technologies and hoped users would find them.

This year's groups were different. They recognized that businesses are built on customer and communities; technology is just a tool. The presenters focused more on how they had engaged industry associations, user groups and beta testers, to ensure their technologies would be welcomed in their markets.

Atlus (atl.us), an app in which friends share restaurant recommendations, actually had user stats to boast, noting that people used its platform on average seven times a day. Kira Talent (kiratalent.com), a video-interviewing service for recruiters, included two user testimonials in its presentation and announced it had already cashed two client cheques. These students understood business is about people, relationships and asking for the order - not just technology.

Those who work with entrepreneurs as mentors, directors and advisors sometimes despair of business owners' ability to learn, grow and take direction. The Next 36 proves entrepreneurs can be taught when the teachers learn how to do it. Most of the Next 36 professors and mentors were in their second year, which means they already knew what works and what doesn't, and upped their game this year. To grow better entrepreneurs, we need smarter mentors - and the Next 36 is creating them, too.

Despite the hoopla last week as the Next 36 cohort graduated from gifted students to under-resourced entrepreneurs, co-founder Reza Satchu was still fretting. The venture capitalists and angel investors he'd lured to the presentations had admired the pitches but weren't opening their wallets. Entrepreneurs alone can't save the economy; capitalism needs capital. Mr. Satchu worried that future cohorts may have to bypass Canada and go straight to Silicon Valley, which sort of defeats the purpose of Next 36. Will Canada support the high-impact entrepreneurs it so badly needs?

Rick Spence is a writer, consultant and speaker specializing in entrepreneurship. His column appears weekly in the Financial Post. He can be reached at rick@rickspence.ca

The Next 36 is a bet on the long term: that 10, 20 or 30 years from now, these kids will find ways to shake things up, whether they're on Bay Street, in their own businesses, or in academia, the arts or non-profits.

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